Eastern Standard Time
by Hidge
Summary: AU oneshot set sometime after 8x12 - "Hope for the Hopeless". He wasn't sure what had driven him to spontaneously show up in Moline, the smallest town that he had ever been in in his life, and announce to all of April's family that he was her boyfriend that she had been hiding away. Japril fun! Please R&R!


**A/N: So this piece is set sometime during the middle of Season 8. The important canon points are that Jackson has broken up with Lexie and he, Alex, and April now live together. So let's be honest, this is just smut! So enjoy :)**

**Warning: If smut is not your thing, turn back now. It's rated M for a reason people. Also, forgive any errors, this is un-betaed.**

**I did not intend to, in any way, steal ideas from Rainedonmyparade's wonderful story "Everything Has Changed". I have been sitting on this idea for a while and the idea of dreading an annual hometown festival is very close to my heart. Lol.**

**Disclaimer: As usual, I do not own these characters, etc.**

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Jackson walked towards the Kepner farmhouse and took a deep breath before he pulled the front door open and stepped inside. He slowly passed through the seemingly empty house and up the stairs. He found April in her childhood bedroom, staring out the window. He closed the door behind him, leaving them completely alone.

"So," he spoke into the darkness, the only light in the room was the moonlight streaming through the window, "I've had better ideas."

He wasn't sure what had driven him to spontaneously show up in Moline, the smallest town that he had ever been in in his life, and announce to all of April's family that he was her boyfriend that she had been hiding away. Maybe it was because for the past three weeks he had listened to his best friend complain about how she was dreading returning home for Moline's annual festival because it made her feel like an old spinster. All of her old high school friends were either married or engaged, and her mother and sisters consistently badgered her about when she was going to settle down. Returning home always made her feel like she had accomplished nothing in life and she hated that feeling, and he hated to see that feeling overwhelm her. Maybe it was because he had just broken up with Lexie and he missed the companionship. Or maybe it was because, sometimes, when he looked at April he had these fantasies of lying her down on a bed and exploring every inch of her flawless, pale skin.

Regardless of his reasoning, he had done it. He had presented himself as April's perfect boyfriend. During picnics, dances, a charity flag football game, and other town events, he had affectionately kissed April's cheek and wrapped his arm around her waist, and doted on her like a good boyfriend should. He had bonded with her father and had successfully charmed her mother and sisters.

In his mind, he had been doing her a favour. His initial thought process had been that he would pretend to be the loving boyfriend and he would get her family and friends off of her back for once. It had been a fool proof plan.

Unfortunately, things weren't as black and white as they had been in his mind.

April felt terrible about lying to her loved ones and she had had an unexpected suitor.

She spun around and faced Jackson with a small smile. "It's okay, you had good intentions. You're a really good friend, Jackson."

He gave her a tight-lipped smile in response. "I didn't mean to ruin your game."

"It's probably for the best," she sighed.

They were both referring to Kyle Palmer, who had been the most popular guy in the graduating class of 2000. Her high school crush had been unexpectedly hitting on her since she had returned home. It had been her sixteen-year-old self's dream turned reality, but she had absolutely no idea why he had suddenly taken an interest in her. The most obvious reason was that it was because she looked a lot different now than she had in high school. Her hair was different, an accident during med school meant that her nose was different, and she was a lot curvier than she had been twelve years ago. There was also the fact that everyone in town knew that she was a fancy surgeon in Seattle. She supposed that she was somewhat attractive now; a bit of a catch, and that had grabbed Kyle's attention.

And he was still _so _cute, and funny, and dreamy. He was part of the coaching staff for the baseball team at Ohio State so he was still doing what he loved and he was happy.

And he was into her.

But she was having butterflies and nervous jitters for her best friend turned fake boyfriend. Jackson had always been on her radar. She had crushed on him for their entire intern year, up until the point that she had talked herself into being realistic. She had finally realized that she and Jackson would never actually happen so they have developed a very close friendship. But over the past few days, while he had been pretending to be in love with her, she was pretty sure that she had fallen for him all over again. His sweet gestures, his proximity, the way that he fit in perfectly with her family, the fact that they were sharing her childhood bed…all of it was making things very difficult for her!

"Do you think that you would have, I dunno, hooked up with him if I wasn't here?" His curiosity was just overwhelming. Watching that guy talk to her and buy her drinks all night had turned his stomach. If she was actually his girlfriend, he wouldn't have felt that way, but because she wasn't, he had been so jealous.

He liked pretending to be her boyfriend a little too much.

April seemed to like Kyle just as much as he liked her, and Jackson really shouldn't have felt threatened. He was an intelligent, successful, charming guy. He was good-looking and he knew that most of the time all that he had to do was smile at a woman and she would be in his bed. Hell, he was an _Avery_. But over the past few days, he had felt like the geekiest guy in school trying to get the Prom Queen to give him the time of day. She had been so fixated on Kyle that she had barely given him a second glance.

And standing here now, all that he could focus on was April's bare shoulders, and the definition of her collarbone, and the way that her legs appeared to go on for days in those black stiletto heels. He wasn't sure if he was in love, but he was definitely in lust.

"No," she finally answered as she shook her head slowly. "We live in different parts of the country, it wouldn't make any sense. And I liked him when I was a teenager, it would just be a fantasy to be with him."

"What's wrong with fulfilling a fantasy?" He retorted.

April furrowed her brow in confusion. She wasn't sure why they were having this conversation. "Because it's not real," she stated practically.

He countered with another question. "What's wrong with giving into a fantasy for one night?"

The red-head crossed her arms over her chest and stared at him with a mixture of bewilderment and frustration. Why was he harping on this? "Jackson, what are you talking about?"

"Fantasies can be real." He took a step towards her as he whispered throatily, "Like one night in a different time zone could be a really good fantasy."

She opened her mouth to ask him what the hell he was talking about, but he stopped her from speaking by smothering her mouth with his. She was quite stunned as he moved his mouth deliciously over hers while placing one hand on her waist and the other in her thick, auburn hair.

When he pulled away, she stared at him in wide-eyed confusion. "Um…I…uhhh," she stuttered stupidly.

He smiled at her happily before he moved in for another kiss. And this time, she responded to him eagerly. She slipped her arms around his waist as her tongue moved along his bottom lip. Now that he knew that she was into it too, he pushed her backwards until her butt settled on top of her windowsill. She tightly grasped his shirt as she wrapped her calves around his.

"Jackson," she spoke between hot kisses that sent sparks straight to the pit of her stomach. "What are we doing? Are we…? Are we going to…?"

"That's up to you," he replied seriously. "What do you want to do?"

She thoughtfully chewed on her bottom lip before she responded. "Well, I like you, and I trust you…" She really couldn't think of a better person to share her first time with. She had known him for five years, he was her best friend, he was kind, and he wouldn't make her feel bad about it later, no matter how things turned out…and he was devastatingly gorgeous. "And I'm really attracted to you."

He chuckled, "Ditto, ditto," he paused to growl playfully, "and really ditto."

She giggled and looked down to hide her blushing face. She realized that her mind was already made up, she wanted to have sex with him, but she had one question left to ask him that would determine what happened tonight. "Do you have any protection? Because I don't, and I doubt there's any in this house."

"I do, but there's a weird story behind _why_ I do," he admitted.

She raised an eyebrow in intrigue as she began to unbutton his midnight blue shirt. "Tell me."

He ran a hand over his cleanly shaved head and groaned in embarrassment. "As I was leaving the hospital, Sloan caught up to me, wished me good luck and gave me two hundred dollars in cash and a condom."

April laughed loudly and then covered her mouth with her hand to contain her hysterical giggles. "Oh my God!"

"You haven't heard the worst part yet," he grinned. She stared at him in excitement so he elaborated, "He comes running back to me after another minute, handed me another condom and said: 'Well maybe two will bring you more luck'."

She shook her head in disbelief. "He is something else, isn't he?"

"Yeah, he is," Jackson agreed with a laugh. "But right now I'm pretty thankful."

"Yeah, me too," she whispered with a smile.

She roughly grabbed his neck and pulled him down for a kiss before her hands returned to the buttons of his shirt. She pushed the material off of his shoulders and ran her hands over every contour and muscle of his torso. She knew that he spent a lot of time at the gym, and she had seen him shirtless dozens of times, but this was very different.

All of his muscles were so defined and hard. She could already feel the effect that touching his pecs and abs had on her. She ran her index finger along the line of hair that disappeared into his jeans and he jumped. "Sorry," she apologized meekly.

"Don't apologize," he told her sternly. She didn't have to apologize for turning him on. He kissed her again before he told her, almost demandingly, "Take off your dress."

She was wearing a pretty grey dress that had spaghetti straps and fell just above her knee. It looked unbelievable on her but he wanted it on the bedroom floor.

She stood up straight once again and reached behind her to grab the zipper of the dress. He helped her out of it and the garment pooled at her feet, leaving her in her black strapless bra and matching panties. He lifted her into his arms in one smooth motion and carried her towards the bed. Her childhood bed, a single bed with light purple bed sheets covered in flowers. He knew that he should feel guilty, he knew better than to do this with her, but he wanted her so badly.

And she wasn't making things easy on him. Not with the way that she touched him and the way that she looked in her undergarments. So he deposited her onto the bed without another thought about what a bad guy he was for doing this.

Jackson panted heavily as he held himself above April by balancing his body weight on one hand, while his other hand skimmed along her leg that was still hitched around his waist. "Jesus Christ," he groaned.

"What?" She whispered, and there was a hint of nervousness in her voice.

"You shouldn't wear clothes around the apartment, _ever_," he grinned.

She tossed her head back in laughter and gently smacked his chest. "Shut up."

"I'm serious." He dipped his head and pressed his mouth against hers. "You've been hiding away for five years."

"No, I haven't," she argued, "you've just never noticed me."

"Yes, I have," he confessed huskily. "I just wasn't sure if you wanted me to notice you."

She furrowed her brow in confusion as she gently brushed her hands over his shoulders and down his arms. "I'm not even sure if I know what that means."

Jackson grinned down at her as his fingers danced along her upper thigh. "It means that I want you."

She pulled him down to her and kissed him hungrily. "Good because I want you too."

He kissed her lazily until he couldn't hold himself back any longer. He had to have her soon. He scooted off the end of her bed and stood up. He looked down at his belt and grinned smugly when he saw that April's hand was wrapped around the leather. "I wanna take that off, if you don't mind."

Her cheeks flushed and she bit down on her bottom lip. "Sorry, I thought you were going somewhere."

He shook his head and looked down at her earnestly. "I'm not going anywhere." He leaned down to give her a quick kiss before he unbuckled his belt and pulled down the zipper of his jeans. He paused for a moment, to give her a chance to back out or change her mind, before he pushed his jeans and boxers to the floor.

April's eyes widened and her mouth dropped open a little at the sight of his naked form. "Oh…my…gosh."

Jackson grinned in amusement. He had never gotten that reaction before, but he found it to be incredibly adorable…and a tad sexy. Her innocence was such a turn on. He gently placed his hand underneath her chin and raised her head so that she had to look him in the eye. "Are you going to be able to focus?" He inquired playfully.

She blushed again and squeezed her eyes shut in frustration. "Jackson," she whined. "You know that I've never…I don't know how…I don't know what I'm doing!"

"Hey, hey," he soothed as he knelt down in front of her and cradled her face in his hands. "We said that we were doing this because we like each other and trust each other and are attracted to each other, and this is supposed to feel good. But if you don't want to do this then that's fine."

"No, I do, I really do," she whispered. "I just…" She peered up at him shyly as she tightly grasped his forearms. "I'm afraid that I'll make a fool of myself, Jackson."

He leaned forward and kissed her passionately. She returned his kiss after a moment so he slowly eased her back onto the bed and climbed on top of her. He pulled away to take a deep breath but he pressed quick, open mouthed kisses to her cheek and jaw. "You don't have to worry about that," he muttered.

How could she not worry about that? He was perfect, in every way, and even though he was her best friend, if she did something embarrassing in bed; she would probably never be able to look at him ever again. "But Jackson what if I…?"

He cut her off with another kiss. "April, you're gorgeous, and I'm really into this, in case you haven't noticed."

"I've noticed," she giggled.

"Exactly," he smirked. "So relax."

April took a deep breath and pushed all of her nervous thoughts to the back of her mind. She wanted this, she wanted him, and he wanted her. Everything was going to be fine. It was going to be better than fine.

She boldly pushed him onto his back and started to pepper kisses along his smooth chest. She was pretty sure that she could do this for hours, but she wanted to explore him too. She moved her mouth down to his abdomen and her hand followed as well. She brushed her hand over his hardened length and glanced upwards when she heard him groan. "What?" She asked with a wicked little smile.

Jackson chuckled at the mischievous glint in her eye. "You know _what_? You're not half as innocent as I think you are, are you?" He hoped that she had learned what she was doing from a book because if another guy had taught her then he might have to kill him.

April slid back up his body and placed a hand on his face while she kissed him. "I'm not going to answer that," she returned in a playful manner. "But I am going to um…" She glanced down at his erection and bashfully continued, "Do…ya know…and just tell me if I do something you don't like."

He immediately flipped her onto her back and pinned her to the mattress. "No."

"No?" She repeated with a raised eyebrow.

As amazingly unbelievable as that sounded, he just couldn't let her do it. Not yet anyway. "No."

"You don't want me to?" She questioned tentatively.

"No, that's definitely not it," he chuckled humorlessly. He could just imagine her pretty little mouth wrapped around his…A shiver rippled through his body at the thought and he had to grit his teeth to stop himself from finishing like a pubescent boy. "I definitely want you to; it's just that this is your first time. It should be about you, not me."

She tilted her head to the side and looked up at him with a soft smile. "That's really sweet, Jackson."

"I can be sweet," he shrugged nonchalantly. "Now," he began to change the subject. He gently ran his hand down her side until he reached the waistband of her underwear. "Have you ever had an orgasm?"

"Jackson!" She squealed as her cheeks warmed. "That's a very…that's a personal question!"

He laughed as he slowly pushed her black panties over her hips and down her legs. "I'm going to take that as a no."

She rolled her eyes before she answered him honestly. "Then you would be right."

While he tossed her underwear aside and worked on removing her heels, she unclasped her bra and dropped it on the floor. She figured that she might as well, since he was already fully unclothed.

He raised his head and licked his lips as he appraised her. He was grateful that she wasn't trying to cover herself up, maybe she was slightly more confident than he had given her credit for, and he wanted to tell her that she didn't need to be insecure about her body ever again because she was so…she was…wow…There weren't any words that he could come up with to accurately describe how gorgeous he thought she was. She was all creamy skin and delicate features, and full breasts and neatly trimmed curls.

He swallowed harshly and licked his lips again. He wanted to taste every inch of her.

April started to grow nervous under the intensity of his gaze. She felt like he had been looking at her forever. It was beginning to make her a little uncomfortable. She knew that he was sizing up every scar, every freckle, every imperfection on her body. She wished that there were more lights to turn off.

"Jackson," she whispered.

"Yeah?" He practically growled.

She completely forgot what she was going to say when she noticed how dark his eyes had gotten. He almost looked dangerous, and he was clearly aroused.

"Never mind, I forget what I was going to say."

"Good," he murmured, "I think that I'm all talked out anyway."

He gave her a searing kiss as his hands started to wander her body. Up until now everything had been very PG-13, but she knew that that was about to quickly change. She locked her legs around his waist and gasped when she felt his erection pressing against her inner thigh. It sounded quite juvenile, but she wasn't sure how he was supposed to fit inside of her. He was very impressive. Her thoughts caused her to blush and she decided to try to concentrate on him instead, unfortunately that was difficult. He dropped his mouth to her neck as his large hand kneaded one of her breasts. She tossed her head back, giving him more access to her skin, and moaned. He was doing too many pleasurable things at once, she couldn't focus on anything.

She involuntarily bucked her hips against his and he nipped the skin along her collarbone with his teeth in response. He knew that he was leaving marks on her and he didn't care. He wanted there to be evidence of this encounter when they awoke in the morning. His mouth reached her breasts and he eagerly lapped at one nipple and then the other. She gasped, and whimpered, and moaned, and every sound that she made turned him on even more.

She felt like he was torturing her as he slowly made his way down her body. Her back arched off of the bed when he took her by surprise by pressing his mouth to her center. "Oh God, Jackson," she cried out as she felt his tongue probe areas that she hadn't even explored herself.

She needed to find some reprieve from what he was doing to her. She wasn't sure if she wanted to beg him to stop or beg him to continue.

Her expressive vocals egged him on and before he knew it, she was writhing beneath him and the egocentric in him was inwardly patting himself on the back for a job well done. He felt incredibly satisfied about satisfying her. He was the first man to ever make her come and that was a very powerful feeling.

April still had her eyes closed, and was basking in the most amazing feeling that she had ever experienced, when she felt Jackson's lips on her neck again. She laughed breathlessly and rested both of her hands on his back. "Thank you," she hummed.

"My pleasure," he murmured back. "Let me know when you're ready for more."

She finally opened her eyes and smiled at him. "I want to make you feel that good." She bit down on her bottom lip before she told him, "Get one of your good luck condoms from Sloan."

He laughed, but didn't hesitate to do as he was told. As he got up off of the bed to riffle through his shaving kit, April turned down the covers. She slipped between the sheets and waited for him to join her. She giggled loudly when he practically jumped into the bed.

She kissed him hungrily, and as she did so, she took the condom from between his fingers. She opened the small packet and carefully slipped it on him.

He threaded a hand through her hair as he pulled her face close to his. He captured her bottom lip ravenously and his tongue slipped into her mouth as his other hand probed between her legs. He had given her an orgasm and she was ready for him. He supposed that it was now or never.

"Do you want to be on top or do you want me to?" He asked considerately. "It's up to you."

"Umm…I think I do…at least at first…"

"Okay," he nodded. He gripped her waist and effortlessly lifted her into his lap. "Whenever you're ready," he told her thoughtfully. She took a deep breath before she lowered herself down on top of him. His fingers dug into her hips and his head lolled forward to rest against her collarbone. "Oh sweet fuck." She was so tight that it was almost unbearable.

April was just as still as him as she adjusted to his size. It was uncomfortable but it didn't really hurt like she had expected it to. Her sisters had described far worse experiences. It wasn't pleasant, but she didn't want to stop either.

She was officially no longer a virgin, at least in scientific, biological terms. She had lost her virginity in her childhood bedroom, in her parent's house, to her best friend. She was probably supposed to feel incredibly guilty about these specific details, but she didn't.

She wrapped her arms tightly around his shoulders and experimentally swivelled her hips. Jackson groaned loudly so she was clearly doing something right. She placed both of her hands on his face and tilted his head upwards so that she could look at him. She smoothed out his brow with a single finger before she pecked his lips with her own. He looked like he was in pain.

"What's wrong?" She asked insecurely. She wasn't used to him swearing and she was having trouble reading his expression.

"Nothing's wrong," he assured her quickly. He moved his hands up from her hips to trace the natural curve of her spine. Her skin was so soft that he could spend hours just touching her. "This is incredible. _You're _incredible."

"Yeah?" She asked with a high-pitched voice.

He nodded vigorously. "Yeah, but…" He stopped talking as he changed their position so that he was on top of her. They were now lying upside down on her bed, with their heads at the foot of the bed, and the sheets had slipped off of their bodies. "I need to make you come again; it's a manly pride thing."

She giggled and she appreciated his ability to make her laugh in a situation that could very easily turn uncomfortably serious. The way that he had just taken control of the situation and lifted her to the bottom of the bed was pretty sexy too.

He pressed into her as deeply as he could and gently rested his forehead against hers. Practically every inch of them was touching now, slick skin against slick skin. "Are you okay?" He asked caringly.

"Yeah," she whispered. "This feels nice." She felt so close to him and yet, she still wanted him closer. It was also beginning to feel really good, the discomfort was subsiding, and she wanted more.

He kissed her passionately as he pulled out of her only to push back inside, making her gasp. "I wanna make it better than nice," he breathed. "Because I've thought about you. I've had fantasies about you, that's what I meant earlier."

Her breath hitched in shock and her hands fell from his sides to rest on the bed. "Jackson…I…"

He silently cursed himself. He shouldn't have said anything; he should have left it alone. He was much better at this than he was with words. So he kissed her, and wrapped his arms around the back of her knees so that he could make this as good for her as possible.

He set a slow pace and kept his lips attached to some part of her body until he began to feel her tighten around him. She started to quiver and so he increased the speed of his thrusts until she roughly dragged her nails down his back and cried out his name. He finished inside of her soon after and rested his head on her shoulder for a moment. It was a miracle that he had held on for as long as he had.

After regaining a semblance of his energy, he flopped over onto his back and stared up at the ceiling.

April struggled to regulate her breathing beside him as she pushed her messy hair out of her face. Her body was still tingling, and she knew that she wanted to feel like this again, and again, and _again_.

Jackson was the first one to speak. "So, I like what happens in this time zone."

She giggled infectiously and rolled over so that she could bury her face in his chest. "Me too."

He grinned contentedly as he raised a hand to run up and down her back. She purred like a kitten and entwined one of her legs with his. He was growing hard all over again and he wasn't entirely sure yet if that was welcomed.

"Are you okay?" He asked quietly after a moment.

She hummed sleepily and placed a kiss just above his pounding heart. "I am more than okay. Thank you for taking such good care of me."

"No need to thank me," he replied quickly. "You were amazing."

She raised her head so that she could kiss him on the lips as another way of saying thank you. She rested on his chest once again and waited a long moment before she spoke again. "So, did you enjoy what happens in Ohio enough to repeat it in Washington?"

He grinned as he moved to hover above her. "Definitely. Are you opposed?"

"No, not at all," she responded with a happy smile.

They started to kiss again but stopped when they both heard the sound of a door slamming shut.

"That must be my parents coming home," she whispered.

She covered his mouth with her fingers so that he would remain quiet but she began to giggle when he started to playfully bite the tips of her digits.

"Knock it off!" She scolded light-heartedly.

April listened to the distinct sound of creaking as someone ascended the staircase and as she predicted, a shadowy figure soon appeared outside of her door. A knock sounded on the wood and she tentatively responded, "Who is it?"

"It's me!" Her baby sister, Alice, called out.

Jackson quietly rolled over onto the other side of the bed in order to let her up.

April grabbed her bathrobe before she opened the door, but only enough so that she could poke her head out. "Yeah, what's up?"

Alice raised an eyebrow in suspicion. "Mom and Dad just wanted me to come and check on you, to make sure that you're not sick or something. You left the dance so abruptly and then Jackson left after you, and neither of you returned, but I think that I know what you're up to," she added mischievously.

"Don't be ridiculous, Alice," April replied in the most indignant voice that she could muster.

The youngest Kepner rolled her eyes and spoke sarcastically, "Right, because you don't look like somebody who's just had the best sex of their life."

"Oh hush!" April yelled before she closed her bedroom door once again. She turned back to Jackson and spotted him lying on the bed with an irrepressible grin on his face. "Don't say a word," she threatened.

"Well you're going to have to find a way to keep my mouth occupied then," he retorted devilishly.

She blushed from head to toe and slowly waltzed back to the bed. She leaned down and claimed his mouth assertively. "You might want to get that second good luck condom."

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**A/N: If you took the time to read then you should leave a review! Please :)**


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